President's Message

When I came to Korea in 2004, there were very few Indians, let alone IITians. I still remember those early days when I experienced a huge emotional vacuum. It was difficult to find folks with whom I could connect with and have a conversation. The first few months were very harsh and I could survive perhaps only because of the tough training at IIT. Fast forward 10+ years and now the freshers in Korea enthusiastically call their first few months here a "honeymoon phase". One factor for this paradigm shift is definitely the significant increase in the number of IITians/Indians all across Korea. That said, while our association currently has members mainly based in Suwon and Seoul, we are excited about expanding our footprint going forward.​I am honored to lead the founding years of this alumni association and look forward to make my humble contributions together with all other enthusiastic office bearers. We envision this as a group which every member connects with thus leading to a culture of shared commitment.

In 2015, we established our identity (logo and website launches), created value (through GSIS Community Outreach Program, DISC task force to contribute to Digital India and Smart Cities, "Know a Member" & "Alumni Blog" Series) and had fun (Summer Getaway, Games Night, Thanksgiving Photography Competition, and Year End Party with music and magic).

In 2016, we continued our community outreach activities in international schools and gave a book form (available for free download on our website) to our ideas from last year’s DISC Task Force in partnership with Tomorrows India Summit in Seoul. We also kickstarted new initiatives such as monthly lecture series and annual plant visits to get fresh perspectives, learn from each other and from experts outside our network. We also had a great participation in our other annual events such as games night, Table Tennis tournament, and photo competition.

All this and more would not have been possible without the unwavering support of all our members, in particular our enthusiastic office bearers who put in a lot (I mean it!) of their time to plan and organize events. Thank you! I would also like to thank our three advisors (Mr. Lee, Mr. Sundaram and Mr. Yoon) for guiding us whenever we needed them. Kamsahamnida!

Going forward, we will continue to be aware of the rising expectations from us and will relentlessly strive to scale our efforts in making a marked positive difference to our association and to the world at large.